Your 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants

[jedizero]

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The picture on here- my default- was taken during my visit to AT&T park back at the start of baseball season.  The Giants had come off of a strong 2009, one that saw them outperform a lot of predictions and stay in Wild Card contention into late September.  They'd dominated in Spring Training, and the season looked bright.  They opened the season on the road, but they opened the stadium to fans and broadcast the game on the big screen.  I was in NorCal at the time and stopped by to watch them beat Houston in convincing fashion.

Driving back down to LA that night, I wondered just how far this season would go.  As exciting as winning to start the season is, and as bright as optimism always shines for every team that time of year, I don't think I was letting myself hope for the World Series.  For the most part, I was worried about beating out the Rockies and Dodgers for the Division.

The season came with ups and downs.  A hot start.  A disappointing road trip down south.  Todd Wellemeyer.  Injuries and replacements.  The bewildering dominance of the Padres.  The arrival of the Chosen One Buster Posey.  The month when we randomly transformed into an offensive juggernaut, and the month when our starting pitchers suddenly stopped winning.  Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval getting lost for long stretches.  The 18-game streak allowing three runs or fewer.

But it came down to the end of the season.  The Padres randomly had a 10-game losing streak, the Rockies won 11 in a row, and suddenly there was a tight three-way race.  The possibility of making the playoffs was real, but the tension was almost unbearable.  Torture, you might say.

But then, they did it.  They clinched on the last day of the season.  They rolled into the playoffs with more momentum than any other team.  But still... I wasn't sure they could pull it off.

Fifteen games and three teams later, the Giants are World Champions.  It's still surreal.  I'm watching the victory parade right now, and I still can't believe it.

My other team, the Yankees, won it all last year.  It's been a good couple of seasons for me.  But for some reason, this one feels different.  The Yankees are a powerhouse, a team that expects to make the playoffs every year, and win most of them.  While it was satisfying to see them bounce back from a rough 2008 and reassert their place atop the baseball world, it wasn't surprising.  The Yankees are good, and they always will be.

But the Giants were different.  Everyone knew they could pitch, but nobody was sure if they could hit enough to keep up with the best teams in the league.  That's what the whole 'torture' thing was- knowing they could win, but knowing that things had to go just right for them to do so.  They were either good enough to win it all, or just good enough to break our hearts.  More tension.  More excitement.  And finally, the end of 56 years of waiting for a championship.

I've been rooting for the Giants since I was a little kid.  Watching them lose to the Angels in 2002 was awful.  But now, I'm watching them celebrate the first World Series in San Francisco history.  It's wonderful for city.  And it's wonderful for me and the rest of their displaced fans.  So... thank you, Giants.  Thank you.